In the fields of internet shopping, website error management and the provision of customer services, the customer may be an internet user, for example. For example, in these fields, a vendor may provide a website which is navigated by a user and which allows the user to contact the vendor by telephone, for example.
Transactions prompted by the use of an internet shopping website may be completed offline rather than through the website. In this way, the internet shopping website may be used as an initial source of information for a shopper who prefers to complete a purchase by another means, typically by discussing a purchase with an agent.
There are various reasons for this practice. Firstly, shoppers may want additional information about a product advertised on an internet shopping website which is not available on the website. This is particularly the case for expensive or niche items, about which a shopper may require further information before making a purchase to enable an informed choice, for example.
Internet shoppers who find themselves in such a predicament may make contact with the vendor and explain the circumstances to an agent. Whilst ultimately achieving the desired end result, this interaction with an agent typically involves discussing information already given or received via the internet shopping website and, to that extent, is tedious and time consuming for the shopper.
In addition to the disincentives for the shopper, this practice involves a great deal of extra work for the vendor, which must operate a well-staffed call centre at great expense to process the shoppers' enquiries. Any reduction in the time taken to process such enquiries will result in improved efficiency and reduced cost for the vendor, as well as a better service for the shopper.
Internet shoppers may have unique identities recognizable to the internet shopping website for assisting a shopper to purchase items. Such identities may be used to store contact information and bank details of the shopper, for example, and are typically accessible with a username and password known only to the shopper.
Once an internet shopper has created an identity, it is often possible for an agent to gain access to the identity to find out the stored information without needing to consult the shopper. However, the vendor must still be given enough information by the shopper to locate the identity within a database. A shopper may be reluctant to divulge personal information (particularly their internet usernames) to an agent over the telephone, particularly if the shopper is merely enquiring of a particular product. Accordingly, it is very difficult to associate a shopper with his or her identity during a subsequent interaction.
Sophisticated internet shopping sites may track the shopping trends of a shopper, based on the items they look at and purchase using the internet shopping website. Such schemes enable internet shopping sites to make recommendations to a shopper or even to tailor adverts used on the sites to the particular shopper, based on their preferences.
Such tracking techniques may be used to tailor the display of the internet shopping website to the particular shopper, to increase the likelihood of successfully attracting the shopper to consider an alternative product. These techniques may not help the shopper to find further information about a particular product. Nor do they allow agents to tailor their service to the shopper in a subsequent interaction unless the shopper has created an identity on the website and is prepared to divulge that identity to the agent.
Legacy website providers may use reference numbers for referring to specific products or services. Such website providers may not wish to redevelop their websites to provide enhanced services such as user tracking since it would be particularly laborious to do so.